HSC Business Studies Question Thread

[Thebarman]

Hey guys, for the stakeholders dotpoint in HR, specifically government organisations, my textbook is waffling on about the key roles of business, statutes, tribunals, etc. I don't quite understand this dotpoint. Can someone please help to clarify it?

Thanks!

[rodero]

Hey guys, for the stakeholders dotpoint in HR, specifically government organisations, my textbook is waffling on about the key roles of business, statutes, tribunals, etc. I don't quite understand this dotpoint. Can someone please help to clarify it?

Thanks!

Hey thebarman  ,
I've only recently started human resources as well, so i'm in the same boat as you, but i'll try to answer your question as best I can.
Stakeholders refer to the groups and individuals that have some interest with the business, and will therefore influence its human resource management.

So how are government organisations a stakeholder? 

Well, government organisations create legal frameworks that the business must abide by. Your textbook mentioned statutes, which are the laws that the business must follow, such as minimum work conditions for its employees. The organisations that enforce these laws include the Federal Court of Australia and Fair Work Australia.

If you look at the syllabus, there is a very, very similar dotpoint for stakeholders: Legal influences. Just note that there is in fact a difference. The main difference being that legal influences only include the actual legislation, so this would include:
- The Fair Work Act
- Sex Discrimination Act
- Occupational Health and Safety Act
- etc.
These are all legal influences, which are different to government organisations, as they are the actual body that will enforce these laws if they are breached.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you're confused with anything 

[Thebarman]

Thank you so much, Rodero!  That was incredibly helpful

Just another question for you guys. How do I structure a response for section 4 of the business exam? We haven't gone through it in class yet, and our exam is tomorrow...

Thanks again!

[rodero]

Thank you so much, Rodero!  That was incredibly helpful

Just another question for you guys. How do I structure a response for section 4 of the business exam? We haven't gone through it in class yet, and our exam is tomorrow...

Thanks again!

Hey,
This is the section where people debate whether to structure it as an essay or a business report. Section 4 is where you would include the case(s) that you have studied, such as Apple, Qantas etc.
In my opinion, I would structure this section as a business report. There are a lot of different ways to structure this so you can definitely look into this after your exams. However, my structure follows something like this

Executive Summary: This report will ... blah blah blah

SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Body Paragraphs. I tend to make these the exact wording of the syllabus
e.g. Overcoming resistance to change, performance objectives, outsourcing for Operations strategies
Product, Price, Promotion, Place etc. for Marketing strategies
Basically, I pick a select few that I can best talk about which relate to the question, and then use the dot points from the syllabus and highlight them in the exam. Underneath this I have the content, my case study, and the businesses effectiveness in using these.
If possible, I like to make some form of diagram - So in the exam that I just had a few weeks ago, I made a flow diagram for overcoming resistance to change, using Kurt Lewin's unfreeze/change/refreeze model.

Conclusion - Pretty self explanatory

So yeah, that's how I personally go about structuring a business report. However, i'm just like you and looking for new ways to structure my responses. I'm sure in the next few assessments the way that I structure this section will change, and yours may as well 

[Vinnnnnnyyyyyy]

Hey guys!

I don't really understand some of the different types of shares that can be sold (external source of finance). In particular, I don't understand the difference between rights issue and share purchase plan. Could someone please give me a clear definition and examples on how they're different?

[Kekemato_BAP]

I need help with interdependence of operations and marketing. How do I show that it is evident in a stimulus case study? Thanks

[Kekemato_BAP]

I need help with interdependence of operations and marketing. How do I show that it is evident in a stimulus case study? Thanks

Anyone?

[rodero]

I need help with interdependence of operations and marketing. How do I show that it is evident in a stimulus case study? Thanks

Hey kekemato,
Without knowing what your personal case studies are, I could help you answer this question using Qantas. In marketing, promotional strategies such as advertising will appeal to the customer through the product design and its features. The operations of Qantas must subsequently ensure their products align with the features stated in the marketing campaign.

For instance, in Qantas' 'Safety Video',  John Travolta emphasises the business' safety standards; "There is no-one I would rather have at the controls than a Qantas pilot".  It is then the role of operations to implement performance objectives to meet the needs of the customer and their expectation for safety.

The interdependence of marketing and operations are also seen in prior to the flight. Marketing will advertise flights at a specific time; Operations must then ensure that cleaning and maintenance of planes are done promptly to abide by schedules.

As a general note, the pricing strategies of marketing will acknowledge the production costs of operations, and will then add a mark-up to gain a profit. i.e. The cost to produce a pie in the operations may cost $1.50, but the business' marketing sector may price the product for $2.50

Hope this helps Let me know if you have any questions

P.S Sorry for the extremely late reply, I've been pretty busy during the Easter break 

[rodero]

Sorry if anyone has a question on Finance or the later stages of the Human Resources syllabus. I've only covered Marketing and Operations but I really hope someone else can answer your questions

[kiiaaa]

Hi could someone please explain to me how is inventory management a stragetgy and when would i recommend it in a business report and what is the deal with all this LIFO FIFO. like a get the JIT but the the whole calculation stuff of LIFO FIFO confuses me in how is it strategy.
thanks heaps!

[Kekemato_BAP]

Hi, can someone explain the parts that I need to cover in this report question in the pic? Thanks!!

[rodero]

Hi, can someone explain the parts that I need to cover in this report question in the pic? Thanks!!

Hey kekemato

Looks to me like the question is focusing on the marketing process and operations strategies. Here is a breakdown of the key aspects of the stimulus and a few points you could potentially mention in your report.

Management are seeking information about how they can:
- Ensure their product is relevant to the needs of potential customers in Asian markets
This is mostly achieved through the marketing process: Market research, identifying target markets and implementation, monitoring and controlling
You could possibly mention the market strategy of global marketing, in particular customisation.

- Use operations strategies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage
This is a dead give-away; You need to mention operations strategies in your report. I'd say 3-4 would be sufficient. Technology and global factors stand out to me as potential headings.

- How are operations and marketing interdependent with one another?
My answer will likely be extremely simple to you; You may want to consider delving deeper into the stimulus if this does not suffice.

As a general rule of thumb, a business will acknowledge the expenses that have been incurred in the operations and will add a mark-up to achieve a profit. In the case study, the business will consider the costs for operations such as fuel, maintenance of planes, purchase of new technology etc. The marketing sector will adopt the pricing strategy of cost-based pricing to ensure the tickets will generate a profit.

Explain how market research can be used by management to adapt to the needs of the customer in a new market
Here it is key that you mention market research (Obviously  ). This sort of intertwines with the statement above, where the business wants to ensure their product is relevant

Recommend strategies of operations management to enable the business to compete successfully in a foreign market
Again, this links with the above statement about operations strategies to achieve a competitive advantage. I stress that you need only pick a few that you can talk about in detail.

Hope this helps, let me know if you need further explanation 

[rodero]

Hi could someone please explain to me how is inventory management a stragetgy and when would i recommend it in a business report and what is the deal with all this LIFO FIFO. like a get the JIT but the the whole calculation stuff of LIFO FIFO confuses me in how is it strategy.
thanks heaps!

I've hit this road block as well and noticed that this question still hasn't been answered. If anybody has some idea of this dot point please let us know! 

[RuiAce]

Hi could someone please explain to me how is inventory management a stragetgy and when would i recommend it in a business report and what is the deal with all this LIFO FIFO. like a get the JIT but the the whole calculation stuff of LIFO FIFO confuses me in how is it strategy.
thanks heaps!

I've hit this road block as well and noticed that this question still hasn't been answered. If anybody has some idea of this dot point please let us know! 

The concept of JIT is more working in favour of the business itself. It carries benefits such as allowing for smaller warehouse spaces and better quality products.

FIFO v.s. LIFO is more related to tax. The underlying factor is that prices are usually inflating.

Under the assumption that prices are inflating, inventory purchased at an earlier date is written down at a lower book value, than those of a later date. The value of inventory is going to impact on the value of our COGS expense once we sell it. It may help to use numeric values to visualise it, but I'll just give a rough explanation. (Mostly because I have no idea about actual prices.)

Recall that inventory turns into COGS expense at point of sale.

Suppose you have the same good you're selling (idk, eggs for example). But you have one carton you purchased now, and another carton you purchased later. Those you purchased later are going to be written for a higher price than the ones previously.
Under FIFO, the ones with the lower book value get sold first. This means that the ones with lower book value are sold first, and your COGS expense is comparatively lower
Under LIFO, the ones with the higher book value get sold first. This means that the ones with higher book value are sold first, and your COGS expense is comparatively higher

Here's the strategy. By opting to use LIFO, you're effectively increasing your COGS expense, and by consequence decreasing your gross profit. Having decreased your gross profit, your EBIT (earnings before interest tax) goes down. Ultimately, this means that by choosing to go for LIFO, because your earnings is reduced, you pay less tax. (Which is also why this is illegal in Australia.)

[kiiaaa]

Hello everyone

Could someone please help me understand what market segmentation is exactly? and all that stuff relating to  the secondary target market. Like i get that you have specific people you aim your product towards but the rest i dont get.
Thank you!